


Beorn's visitor

by celiinen



Category: The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Bears, F/M, Friendship, Horses, Origin Story, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-17
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-08-13 17:44:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20178229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celiinen/pseuds/celiinen
Summary: Beorn is visted by a travelling merchant who is seeking employment for the winter.





	1. Chapter 1

Between the misty mountains and Mirkwood, in a beautiful valley, a manor towered from the ground. it was built from wood blending perfect into the landscape. It was the fall, and the reddening leaves were still covering both the trees and the ground on the vast meadows for as far, as you could see. The meadows were still covered in flowers, though not as vastly as they had been just a few months ago. In the horizon the peaks of the misty mountains were kissing the sky. The sun was bright on the sky, and at the moment neither wind nor clouds were anywhere in sight.

Lyriel was a travelling storyteller and merchant. She owned nothing but the clothes on her back and the few items she carried in her bundle swung over her back. She had produced and collected items for sale such as arrows, wooden figures and woven goods. She was a slim brown-haired girl with eyes in the color of dark moss. Her face had sharp features but looked gentle none the less. Her feet were sore from the walking, she did not own shoes, but her skin had gotten hard from the many hours she spent wandering the wilderness. In fact, Lyriel spent most of the summer wandering as a traveller, and in the winter she’d find work on the farms or in the cities. And as the leaves had started to redden she would have to find such a place soon. She had passed through Mirkwood, and through the town of Rhasgable, but she had not had much luck. Apart from a modest offer from the whore-house, which she had respectfully declined, it had not been possible for Lyriel to find hire in the town. She was headed for Rhuadur, but the terrain had forced her to go north, where she now found the manor.

The building was large, as it was built for giants. Lyriel gazed in awe at the impressive size of it, but what fascinated her most, was the fences that kept the many horses. Like everything else, these were large animals, working horses. Lyriel spotted an opportunity. She was skilled with horses. Lyriel used to travel with her father, Norman, but he had died many winters ago as they were attacked by robbers on the trail, robbers were not unusual so Lyrial was skilled in archery for her protection, however they were outnumbered, at the robbers had killed her father and stolen their horse, a giant working horse by the name Eeshmere. The robbers had spared Lyriel’s life, as she was just a child, but nothing else. Since then she had been on her own.

Lyriel stood by the fence and whistled at the horses to attract their attention. One came closer, and Lyriel gave him an apple she had carried from Rhasgable. She petted the horses giant face, as a voice approached her “You should go back where you came from” the voice belonged to a compact boy, with wild hair. Lyriel looked at him “And why is that, kid?”

He pointed at the horse “That’s lord Beorn’s horses. He doesn’t like outsiders”  
Lyriel smiled “I will put that to the test”. Lyriel was used to rejection, but she was a convincing sales-woman, and not easily scared. She walked up to the manor and knocked on the gigantic door.

The door opened in front of her, and an enormous man opened the door. He was eating honey of a mug, starring at disbelief at the tiny woman in front of him

“Hello, I am…”  
“No” he slammed the door in her face.  
Lyriel waited a second and knocked again  
“Go away!” the deep mans voice shouted from the house.  
Lyriel knocked again  
“I told you to go away!” the man opened the door again and looked at her with lightning in his eyes, for a second Lyriel was frightened  
“I am Lyriel, and I am looking for employment for the winter”  
“There is nothing for you here” He slammed the door again.  
Lyriel did not give up so easily “Your horses! They will need shooing and feeding”  
The man opened the door with a cunning smile on his hairy face. He bent down and looked at her from head to toe “And you think a tiny little human like you will be able to shoe my horses”. Suddenly he burst into a loud, hoarse, deep laughter. Lyriel did not find it very amusing “I will tell you what, if I can shoe your horse, you should let me stay”.  
Beorn looked at her with a serious face “No” he said at went on to slam the door again. Lyriel put her foot in the door to prevent him from closing it, but he angrily shouted “Go away” and took Lyriel by the collar and threw her back outside. Lyriel landed on her behind, as the door slammed.

Most people would have been terrified at the sight of the angry giant, but Lyriel was not easily scared. She did not give up. She went and knocked on the door, but this time, a giant bear opened the door roaring into her face. This time she got scared and took off hastily, but as the reached the road, she realized what she had just come across. Not only an opportunity for work, but also a story to tell when she moved on to her life on the road. Stories was the easiest way for her to make money. A man who trained bears, would certainly be worth the trouble, surely this was too good to pass out on. She returned to Beorns house, but this time she did not go to the house. She went to Beorns stables. All the equipment was too large for her. Using it posed a real obstacle in itself, but despite the difficulties she started to clean out the stables. In the evening, Beorn arrived in the stables to find the work had been done. He was angry to see the stubborn girl returning his horses to the cleaned stables. “Did I not tell you to leave” he thundered.  
“You did” she agreed “But you also told me, that I was not able to shoe your horse and now I cleaned your stables, and I intend to shoe this horse, so you see what I can do”. Beorn gave her an irritated look, although he was pleased with the cleanliness of the stables and found her somewhat amusing “Well then, if you can shoe my horse, I will let you stay. But not that one” he pointed at the mare on her side “You will shoe that one” he pointed at a stallion. It was a beautiful horse, huge, but very skittish looking. Lyriel wondered if the horse had ever been in human hands before “That is a wild horse” she said. He looked at her with a smirk “Yes, he came to me a few days ago, he has been sick, but he is at better health. I intend for him to stay here now.”

Lyriel sank. This job would not be easy “And if I shoe him, I get to stay for the winter” Beorn nodded his bearded face. Determined, Lyriel grabbed her rope, and approached the horse gently. He showed the white in his eyes and flaired his nostrils as she approached. He neighed, and kicked the doors of his booth.

Lyriel looked at Beorn, who was smiling at the sight. How would she be able to shoe this beast? She entered the booth and reached out her hands to him. He neighed, and pranced. She withdrew her hands and hesitated. She heard Beorns deep laughter behind her, and it irritated her. Then she approached the horse again, she whispered and made calming sounds and this time touched him with the palm of her hand. He pranched again, and turned around, and Lyriel only just managed to avoid his hooves. She then threw the rope around the horse’s neck and as he pranched again, she was lifted of the ground. “Shhhhh” Lyriel whispered and clicked her tounge. For a few minutes he tried to resist the rope, but eventually he calmed down, but as soon as she tried to lead him from the stable, he got uneasy and started prancing again, but Lyril knew this would eventually tire him out.

“Well then” Beorn exclaimed “Now, leave”. Lyriel looked at him “I am going to shoe this horse”. He rolled his eyes “You’ve had your chance, you can’t even get him out of the stall”. But as Beorn tried to approach them, the horse left the stall. She managed to restrain him, by no means graceful, but it was good enough. Lyriel tied the rope, but the most difficult part was still ahead. Beorn looked at the determined young woman and said “You have had your chance, if you are still here tomorrow, I will let the bear chase you off” then he left. Lyriel stayed in the stable the entire night, patiently working with the wild horse, tiring him and winning his trust.

By morning Lyriel had fallen asleep in the hay. The wild horse was still tied beside her “I thought I had told you to leave” Beorn roared, as he saw her. She got up “You told me I could stay if I shoed your horse, and I did”. She pointed at the horse and the shoe on its hooves. Beorn looked at it in surprise “So you have”. He was quiet for a moment “Now you can remove them again”. Lyriel did not believe her ears “But I just put them on!” she objected. “Yes, but he is a wild horse, and they have no use for shoes” Beorn said indifferent. Lyriel was frustrated, it had taken her the entire night to shoe the horse, and it had been for nothing. The horse had managed to kick her several times, leaving her bruised. “and I can stay, then” Lyriel said trying to convince herself it had not all been for nothing “No. Then you leave.” Beorn said in an irritated manor. Lyriel got up, and put a finger on his enormous chest as she said “We had an understanding! I shoed your horse!” he waved her off “Fine! I am a man of my words. But if you stay here, you abide to my rules! And do as I say, if you can’t carry your load, you’re out”. Lyriel smiled, but was dreading the prospect of removing the shoes of the wild horse.


	2. The bear

Lyriel barely saw Beorn for the next few days, except when he was checking up on her work. He rarely said anything, just grunted, but three days upon her arrival Beorn arrived angry at the stables. He was carrying a trap, that Lyriel had set up for rabbits "Explain yourself!" he demanded and threw the trap on the ground in front of her. It broke from the fall and Lyriel got angry "Hey! That is mine!" she shouted and straightened her back as if to challenge him "And it took a long time to make that trap!"   
He roared "This has no purpose on my lands! We do not trap or kill animals at my manor! And if you wish to stay here, you will abide to this!"   
Lyriel did not believe her ears "What do you expect me to eat?"   
Beorn looked at her with disgust "You can eat any vegetables you find, any crops, milk from my cattle and honey from the bees, but you do not touch the animals on my lands".  
Lyriel looked at him with piercing eyes, as if she was trying to see if he was joking her, but he was not. "Fine then" she said and returned to her work.   
From then on Beorn left food for Lyriel at the stables, occasionally he would let her eat in the manor, and soon she got accustomed to her new vegetarian diet. 

Lyriel noticed the bear had been leaving the house for the forest every day, but seemed to return before nightfall. Beorn had ordered her to never get in the bears way "If you stay out of his way, he will not harm you, but if you get in his way, you will be ribbed apart" he had said. Lyriel was tempted to test the bear to see how trained it was and whether Beorn had been telling the truth about it, after all he would never find out, but at the size of it, she had decided to stay clear of it. 

The nights were getting colder, and one night in the late fall the stable was particular cold. Lyriel was unable to sleep, even when she covered herself in hay and blankets. She snug in to Beorn's house into the kitchen. She never went to his house except on those rare occasions when she ate her food by the fire. She sat down next to the fireplace and held her hands towards the dying fire. She threw a log on it. She was exhausted and cold, but the fire seemed to soothe her and melt her frozen fingers, she lay down in front of the fire, and before she knew, her eyes had closed.

"What are you doing inhere" Beorn grunted, when he saw her lying on the floor in front of the fire. "The stable is getting too cold to sleep in" she replied, she imagined he would protest, but he merely shook his head "You are a very small human" he grunted. She was no longer offended by Beorn's rude comments, she had gotten used to them. "If you want to stay in the house, you have to work in the house" he said. Lyriel looked at him in disbelief "Like a housemaid?"  
"If you don't like my rules, you are free to leave".  
Lyriel considered for a moment, but that was no choice really, she had nowhere to go. "So you expect me to tend to your animals and your manor?".  
Beorn took a slurp of a giant mug of what seemed to be milk "Cook the dinner, bring the firewood and clean the dishes" he replied.  
"Fine" Lyriel said angrily. When she had gone to the stables, where he could no longer hear her, she started cursing Beorn for the extra work. Her naked feet were suffering in the cold. She took a bit of Beorns wool and wrapped it around her feet.   
As she was looking at her feet, she noticed bloodstains on the ground, right in front of the wool and on the other side of the fence. Her eyes followed the stains, and she saw the bloodstains turning into a pool. The pool of blood belonged to a sheep that had been maimed into deformity with an enormous bitemark by the throat, the sheep was cold dead and had been dragged. Lyriel let out a terrified scream, as she saw a hole in the wooden fence. It looked as if the fence had been broken through by a large wild animal. She realized, that the field was filled with the blood and cadavers of half a dozen sheep, one of them hosting a feasting 5 feet tall creature. It's teeth were sharp and it growled at Lyriel by the sound of her scream. It was a warg. She screamed again, and the beast set after her. "Beorn!" she shouted as she ran back towards the manor. Beorn walked out of the house, as he realized what was happening, he ran towards the warg. Lyriel thought he had gone mad. He had nothing to defend himself with and yet he ran head first towards this massive beast "Have you gone mad!?" Lyriel shouted at him, but in that same second, the huge man transformed into an even huger bear. Lyriel did not believe her eyes. The bear charged the warg and the two beasts collided. Beorn seemed to get the upper hand quickly, but the warg bit his front leg, which managed to send blood in all directions, Beorn's giant mouth grabbed the warge by the neck and swung the beast to the ground. The warg looked up at the bear and decided to flee into the forest. The bear chased the beast to the edge of the forest, but turned around towards the manor. The bear let out growls of pain as it limped back towards the manor. Lyriel was blocking the doorway, petrified by the magic she had just witnessed. The giant bear looked into her eyes, roared with an irritated sound, and then pushed her aside with a massive paw. 

Lyriel went after the bear, still in chock. She studied the beast "Beorn?" she said in disbelief, but the bear said nothing, he sat down and started licking his wound. Lyriel went to get a bottle of brandy to clean the wound, but the bear roared at her and pushed her off with a swipe of it's paw. Beorn roared into her face when she tried again, and this time succeeded in pouring brandy on the wound. Lyriel considered whether to stay out of the bears way, but quickly decided not to. Then she took a piece of wet cloth and carefully cleaned the blood of the wound. The bear grunted dissatisfied, but tolerated it. Lyriel did not dare stitching the bear, so she just wrapped a piece of cloth around the wound to protect it from dirt. The fur of the bear was so soft and warm, Lyriel caught herself thinking how wonderful a coat this fur would make, it would keep her warm in even the coldest of winters, but quickly she was ashamed by that thought as she remembered the bear was Beorn. Instead she looked the bear into it's eyes and nodded "You are fine now" she said, and left to clean up the warg's mess.


	3. A story to tell

By nightfall Lyriel returned to the manor, exhausted from the extra work. She had not known what to do with the maimed carcasses, so she had dragged them to the edge of the forest with aid from a massive working horse. The dirty work had left her stained with blood and irritated. Beorn had not offered any help, but had been locking himself inside the manor since he had chased off the warg. At first Lyriel thought he might have been unable to transform back to human or that the wound had left him seriously injured, but now she saw him sitting alive and well in his human form, drinking. He was sitting by the fire, gazing into the flames. "How is your wound" she asked. He put his hand on the wound "Fine" he mumbled in a disinterested manor. "What is a warg doing in the valley?" she asked. He suddenly looked towards her in a serious fashion, then looked back into the flames trying to ignore her. It would be a few awkward minutes while Lyriel stared at him, waiting for her answer. Beorn looked at her face and saw her determination. He realized that she was not going to give up and growled irritated, took a sip of his mug, gazed back into the flames, and then began "My people used to live on the mountain. There were many of us, back then. Everything was different. You would hear the sounds of children, and bears on the mountain side. There was much life. and the manor on the mountain was worthy of a king. Even humans - Such as yourself - did not come near us. Our lives were undisturbed, and... free. The smell of morning on the mountain is a smell you will never forget. The pinewood, and the wet stone, kissed by the morning dew, the sound of animals. The taste of wild berries." Lyriel saw a smile on his face and she knew what he meant. Her time as a traveler had left her with a great love for the rough terrain of mountains. He looked down at his mug, as he went on with his story "But then the wargs outnumbered us, they spread like a plague. We fought them for years, at first it was just one - Like the one today, but slowly they killed of us, one by one. It all ended with the final battle. We lost the manor. Only a fraction of us survived. We fled to the valley." He paused "They are horrible creatures, wargs. They go for the children first". Lyriel thought she saw a tear in his eyes "And then they go for the women." As Lyriel looked at his face, she realized there was more to the story, his face was painted with grief, but knowing Beorn, she did not dare to ask. She moved a bit closer to him. He looked at her, as if he had just woken from a dream "Where is dinner!?" he roared, and Lyriel saw all the vulnerability leave his face, as if it had never been there.

Beorns wound healed slowly. He had been away more than usual, which had left Lyriel wondering about the rest of the story. Almost a week had passed before Beorn started to seem normal again. 

As the sky turned red from the setting sun, Lyriel returned to the manor. Beorn was still out. She had not seen him all day despite his injury. Lyriel lit the fireplace, the air was so cold her breath left fog in the air. She cooked her dinner, and as the room heated up, she felt warmth returning to her fingertips. The hot bowl of soup sent a burning sensation trough her fingers that felt both painful and comfortable on her freezing hands. The meeting with the warg and Beorns story had made her reconsider her plans for the following summer. She gazed into the fire and imagined the misty mountains. Passing mountains is always a risky affair, but the thought of a herd of Wargs that were able to chase of an entire tribe of man-bears seemed overwhelmingly risky. Her thoughts drifted to the maimed carcasses of sheep, and she imagined how the bodies of Beorn's people must have looked, and then how her own body would look after such an attack. It was a gruesome thought. She decided not to think of it yet. The warm fire and the hard work had made her drowsy. She stretched her body and crawled on to the loft of the kitchen. She had found this place to be the best place to sleep. Not only was she free from Beorn and his rude ways, but the heat from the fire gathered under the roof making it a warm place to sleep. From the loft you had a view of the entire kitchen and a small window, made for ventilation in the summer, gave her view of Beorns stables and fields and a perfect cloudless night sky with a million bright stars in the frosty air. The full moon spread a beautiful light across the fields. In the distance you could see the treetops from the woods. There was an orange flair, which meant someone had lit a fire. It was unusual for travelers to come this close to the manor. Apparently Beorn had a reputation for being inhospitable, which to Lyriel, made a lot of sense, as he was likely the rudest person she knew. He was incredibly irritating, but still - somehow - she had also grown to like him - Or respect him perhaps. Lyriel had made bad experiences with employers before, mostly men who had tried to make a move at her once the ale had gotten the best of them, which tended to happen a lot with some of them. Beorn had not seemed interested in Lyriel, quite the contrary he seemed utterly disinterested and occasionally even disgusted by her. Others had not offered her proper food or withheld her payment, but Beorn had never done any of that. He was an honest man, rude, but honest.

The loft was packed with stored items such as grain, nuts and seeds, excess plates, pots and pans, supposedly for feasts at the manor, which had likely never been held. Lyriel snug up under a blanket on the loft. The floor was hard and not yet completely warm. She kicked off her homemade woolen boots, which was mostly wool wrapped around her feet with string. Not much to look at, but it kept the cold out for now. Lyriel hoped to get real boots soon, perhaps Beorn would not mind her using the skin of a dead sheep for her boots. Every muscle in her body was stinging from the labor, but she had enjoyed it. What she missed most on the road was working with animals, especially horses like Lord Beorn's. At this moment she realized, that she was going to miss the manor once she moved on. She closed her eyes, and fell asleep instantly.

It was not long before she was woken by the sound of animals. They were unsteady at the stables,immediately Lyriel thought of the wargs, but in between she heard the growls of different creatures with hoarse human-like voices. Lyriel felt the fear go through her body, she already knew what it was before she looked out the window. A handful of orcs were opening the stables and pulling out a calf. It was screaming. They pulled it on the ground, and stuck a blade into it's belly. Lyriel felt sick by the sight. She had been sleeping in those stables just a few months ago. She imagined how easily she could have been that calf, if the orcs had come just a few months before. 

She looked for her bow and arrow, but it was nowhere to be seen. It was still at the stables, it had not been used since Beorn had forbidden her to hunt, and she wanted it close when she worked in the stables, after all, a warg would never enter the manor. Orcs however were different. Lyriel considered her options, and decided that she would have to run. If she made it out the backdoor, she could alert Beorn's neighbors. She pulled on her shoes, and started descending down the ladder. She had not taken two steps before the door burst open. In that second she quickly pulled herself back onto the loft. five orcs entered "Search the house!" the largest one shouted. He looked at his companion "What I wouldn't give for a plump child" he said and laughed in a way that made Lyriel's skin crawl. 

The smaller orcs returned and reported that there were no humans in the house "What a shame" the larger orc said "The fire is still warm, they were just here. I smell it too..." He started sniffing up in the air. Lyriel pulled herself further back on the loft, in case he looked up. Her foot gently pushed something soft and bulky. She looked at it in horror. A couple of nuts feel from the top of a sack and landed on the floor of the loft. The orcs went silent by the noise. One rolled next to her, she grabbed for it, but it rolled off the loft and fell unto the kitchen floor. Lyriel closed her eyes and begged for a miracle, but the orcs started roaring towards the loft. Lyriel panicked. She kicked the ladder away, making it fall to the floor, but the orcs shot arrows to the loft. One barely passed her head. She opened the window and crawled into the frosty night. Her shoes made it almost impossible to get footing on the roof, but it was too cold to take them off. The frosty roof felt like knives on her hands. She pulled herself above the arc of the roof, behind her the orcs had reached the loft. She tried to climb down, but lost her footing. She slid down the side of the roof, desperately grabbing for anything to hold on to, but the she only managed to pull off some straw from the roof. she fell to the ground. The pain was horrible, but she managed to get on her feet and somehow to run.  
She started to shout in case someone would hear her "Help! Orcs!". Then she felt something sharp piercing the back of her thigh. She screamed with agony, as she fell to the ground. She got up, but she was limping. The orcs landed on the ground behind her, and then she felt the large orc pushing her to the ground, she screamed again, but he turned her around to face them "It's a she!" he roared. Lyriel desperately grabbed for anything behind her, her heart was racing. Her hand got hold on a rock and in a quick motion smashed it into the orcs scalp. He roared with pain and released her. Lyriel started to crawl backwards, but the pain from the arrow made it impossible, the angered orc grabbed her again "I am gonna kill you slowly" her sneered at her, and pulled out his dagger. Lyriel quickly grabbed the arrow in her leg and snapped it in half and jammed it into the orcs neck.

For a moment everything was quiet. She orc stared at her in disbelief. Then he fell to the ground. The others starred at Lyriel, and then burst out in roars. They grabbed her, started pulling in her clothes and limbs. She screamed and desperately kicked with all her might, but there was nothing more to do. She felt a set of razor-sharp teeth sinking into her shoulder. She screamed, as her own warm blood started to run across her body.   
Then another sound was heard, it was a much larger roar, that pierced the noise from the orcs, a giant bear grabbed the orc by the neck and pulled it off her. She fell to the ground. Her vision was blurry, but she saw the shape of the giant bear breaking the neck of another orc. The two remaining orcs decided to flee, but the bear chased them down. Lyriel did not see the ending, but noticed how everything went quiet, she had fallen to a pool of orc-blood mixed with her own, twitching from the pain, unable to scream or cry. It started to whiten before her eyes, as she felt someone grabbing her off the ground. She saw the outline of a man lifting her onto his shoulder, as if she had been a deer. He started to carry her back to the manor. Then everything went black. 


End file.
